Session 3 - Brian

Session 03 (2024-07-21) - Brian

After midnight, we meet at the Big Tree Inn. Halfling Warrens don’t have great access to the water - no infrastructure, docks, etc.

Delridge meets us, and we head to our ride with [[Dander]] aka (Pemrose Dandelion) on his covered 20’ fishing boat. We meet [[Dander]] at the boat.

We get on board and shove off. We notice that the middle of the river has a strong current (east to west), with cross-currents and eddies - a dangerous crossing.

Danders tells us about “wizards and cripples” going to the south bank. Magical plants are on the south shore. Vines and ferns, claims, mullusks and snails. Some plants move or are pointy or are not-green - avoid them. Dander isn’t sure what causes the sickness. The fog is unpleasant - avoid it. It’s cold and smells bad. He thinks it’s wizard mist (nat 1).

Bikke asks about the Sausage guy. Dander refuses to talk about him. He says it’s odd that we say we are calling ourselves Merchants, and rescued halfling kids. “You all do weird shit”.

Danders points us to the one proper dock by the Lazaretto, and says that’s where we need to drop off. We see marshy, greyish misty, forest. He’s dropping us off and will come back tomorrow before midnight (1 day). Follow road south, branches - take the non-south branch to find the lighthouse. He warns us to stay on the road and avoid the mud. Stay out of the mist, avoid the Lazaretto. Watch the shore - not swimmable. Bikke asks about coming back for 2nd night. He’ll come back for a second night, will require him to stay at Vintner’s with Port. He doesn’t like Ergzett Rukk.

South Bank

He drops us off at the dock. The boat disappears into the mists back north. We cannot see Port Maraisa from here.

Kira tells us about the illness: similar diseases affect the skin, from swamps that cause fever. But not familiar with swamp disease that starts with fever and then turns into skin lesions.

Kira leads us (Darkvision) along the trail. We can see via moonlight, following Kira on the trail. Voice calls out tells us to “stop travelers”. Claims to be the Night Watch of Lazaretto. Tells us to “Light No Fire” - mist can ignite. Tells us our turn is just up a head to the right. He mentions Mother Verduna and her doctors.

We take the right fork, unused rural walking path (1 foot wide). 45 minutes walking, fog gets thicker, claustrophobic. We connect to each other with rope. Mist is cold (as Danders said), damp, clingy. No significant smell from the swamp now.

Lighthouse

We find the lighthouse - small set of stairs up to retaining wall where the beacon is built. House is more of a bunker than a normal house. We’ve been walking for an hour up to 1.5 hours.

Lighthouse is six stories. No lanterns, illumination - no signs of life. Path has widened. We find a small boat tied off at the water - too small to fit all of us.

Hugh uses “divine sense” and senses nothing.

Door to bunker / lighthouse is hanging open. We enter the house, smell stale alcohol - smells like a drunk. House has not been kept up, spiderwebs, spills have stained the wood. Sad. We find handwritten letters that were flung into the fire but didn’t burn. Letter to [[Julietta]] (daughter) from Agostino Barlucci. Barrick grabs letters and book, follows everyone upstairs. Hear unhealthy grinding noise coming from center of lighthouse. We head up to the top of the lighthouse. Still can’t see Port Maraisa nor North Beacon from here.

We find more bottles and some tools - It looks like someone was working on it. It looks like the lighthouse is trying but failing to turn. The tick of the machinery comes 1.5s after waves crash against the shore - the lighthouse is driven by the currents / water.

Gears at the top. Barrick realizes that the southern wheel would pivot the lighthouse horizontally. The conical gear would tilt the lighthouse up or down.

Looking down into machinery, smells swampy drifting up from machinery. We can’t see if something fell off the lighthouse. Lens, mirrors, center area that could be lit - all open to the weather. Find pipe /shaft and spring that looks damaged on the ground. Skilled blacksmith to fix it - beyond Barrick. Tools have started to rust a little.

[[Hugh]], [[Barrick]], [[Gavin]] finds a hatch under the bedroom. A bottle weirdly falls off the shelf and rolls toward us. Hugh uses “divine sense” and senses a presence here, most likely a spirit. Feels a coldness. Barrick pulls back the tarp. The hatch is locked, board nailed over it.

While that happens, [[Bikke]] and [[Kira]] go around the lighthouse following the path, find some tools and equipment. There is a cave in the water that goes under the lighthouse. It is chained shut to keep out wildlife / detritus. Accessible, 2 feet of water - dangerous but accessible. They enter the cave. It is misty, mustrooms, lichen. There is a locked grate - Kira goes through the grate as a mouse. She finds a ladder, shouts. We break down the hatch. The party is reunited.

Water clock mechanism - feat of engineering. Find a body. The body is bloated, thin white hair, white beard, heavy wool coat. Down here for maybe 2 weeks (the lighthouse went out 10 days ago).

The clicking we heard from upstairs is happening down here. Center vertical shaft isn’t moving when it should. Natural cave, cave celing - rough cavern roof. Brass band in roof, seal around shaft. Valve in ceiling. Kira takes the notes and book from Barrick.

Gavin moves barrels in the main room that are by the tower. Hatch slams shut hard. Party has been split for 15m. We hear rush of the river - wall of water ripping through the cave.

Bikke sees hatch closed, nails driving themselves back into the boards. Smashy from below, but oak planks slam back down. Kira casts heat metal on the metal parts of the hatch. All the bottles that still have some liquor in them start moving, rushing toward Bikke.

Metal starts glowing red, wood starts to steam, char in the wood. Water hits us, fills the chamber. Machinery shakes and jitters. We hold on to ladder, and ladder hangs on to the wall. Hatch jumps up and slams itself down again, pushes water back down.

Barrick and Hugh hold on. Hugh starts to drown. Bikke opens an inch and half gap in the wood. Kira shapes water to make a gap around Barrick, and Barrick pulls Hugh up higher on the ladder into the gap so Hugh can get a breath. Bikke smashes up the hatch. Water starts to rush out. Ladder breaks loose. Barrick tries to grab a few fingers into the hole in the hatch. Barrick holds onto the hatch, Hugh ripped away with the ladder, and is slammed into the portcullis and takes damage.

Hatch goes inert again. Bottles start flying around at Bikke. Hugh and Barrick use the ladder to get out. Agostino Barlucci body was smashed up, dragged around, broken by the water.

Kira looks through the book and letters. This is [[Julietta]]’s diary from the Lazaretto. She wasn’t able to bring any of her things with her - they were all burned because of the disease protocol. She misses her sister in Riatavin. She mentions that her sister [[Kirin]] returned, and is working for The Vintner. It also mentions that Mother Verduna has told her that her father was working at the Southern Beacon. She was told not to visit her father, that her father may not be able to handle the disease’s affect on his daughter. Letters addressed to Agostino Barlucci appears to be the response to correspondence. These letters are cruel & vicous - he is a useless drunk, killed mother, daughter now a whore. Diary seems like she is sweet and scared. Letters might be forged - very differt tenor. Last journal entry, she is musing that if she can’t visit her father, maybe she could just follow the trail and see him at work (but not visit him) at the Lighthouse.

Who is controlling the water?
What is behind the barrels?
How did her journal get here?

Theory: Augustino kills himself, traps self in basement. Julieta goes to the lighthouse to see if she can see him. She goes inside, finds the letters, and leaves the journal there.

Bikke moves the barrels. Two on the bottom are ful. One on top is nearly empty. Masonry in the wall looks fresh while rest is old and dry.

Hugh drinks some of the liquor and briefly sees an old man flickering in and outside existence. Hugh drinks beer from the barrels, and starts seeing the guy Agostino Barlucci more clearly. Augustino looks ashamed and confused - delusional drunk and confused.

Bikke breaks through plaster, and finds cupboard, where it had been bricked over. Finds body, smashed and broken by the gears, with water logged mattress smashed up in the gears. Seeing the face of the corpse, the skin is like bark from the Rotting Disease, like yellow fingernails. Disfigured girl 18/19 years old. Augustino falls weaping next to the corpse. Guilt or shame about her body kept him here.

Fixing the lighthouse killed her?

Barrick goes in to remove the corpse. Barrick hears a ping like from radiator as the clockwork ticks. Glass gauge with yellow oil. Spark appears in gauge and fuel bursts into flame. Fuel is not empty. Some malevelont energy (not Augustino) makes the fuel explode, splashes Barrick, Hughs and ignites. Oil sprays out, Barrick minimizes damage, dodge rolls out of chamber. Chamber is on fire.

We’ve been here 3-4 hours.

All the windows and doors slam shut. We see, very briefly, a figure in the smoke pouring out of the chamber, going into the chamber. Silhouette ignited herself on oil - like a Balrog.

Barrick attacks it with his flail - smashing it in the face. [We roll initiative] in battle with [[Corina]], an undead banshee. We destroy it and run out of the lighthouse.